Fourteen Spitfires will take to the skies at IWM Duxford’s 1940s inspired Battle of Britain Air Show

Duxford Battle of Britain Airshow

It’s time to practice your lindy hops and dust off your tweed jackets as IWM Duxford’s Battle of Britain Air Show returns on Saturday 18 and Sunday 19 September, transporting visitors back to the summer of 1940 as the historic airfield prepares for a weekend of vintage showground entertainment and historic flying displays.

Following a successful return to Air Shows in July, IWM Duxford is thrilled to welcome visitors back for its final Air Show of the season which will see the historic site transformed with living history groups, 1940s music and dancing and plenty of activities to keep everyone entertained. The Battle of Britain Air Show will also see a spectacular array of aircraft take to the skies, including The RAF’s Battle of Britain Memorial flight. They will open the show’s packed flying programme with a Spitfire, Hurricane, and one of only two airworthy Avro Lancaster bombers remaining in the world. Air displays throughout the day will showcase the best of Second World War aviation with plenty more Spitfires as well as seaplanes, and Thunderbolts. Also featuring are the Great War Display Team who will be performing a choreographed dogfight with authentic First World War aircraft.

The showground will offer no shortage of entertainment including, for the first time, a vintage fairground complete with a carousel and ferris wheel, jazz and big band sounds from The Debonaires and 1940s classic songs from the cover act, Perfect Vintage. There will also be the chance to dance the lindy hop or try your hand at a swing dance and be sure to say hello to living history re-enactment groups, including Spirit of Britain who will portray the life and roles of 19 Squadron, based at RAF Duxford during the Battle of Britain. Explore static aircraft inside and up close and meet both current and former pilots to hear their stories of life in the air.

All IWM Duxford hangars and exhibitions will be open throughout the weekend including the recently opened Ops Block, an audio-visual experience that captures how men and women defended Britain from Luftwaffe attacks in the former nerve centre of RAF Duxford during the Battle of Britain. With the stories of real people who served here alongside their uniforms, keepsakes, and testimonies, the Ops Block links the personal to the extraordinary feats in the sky.

IWM Air Show Event Manager, Phil Hood, said “The Battle of Britain Air Show is always a very special event at IWM Duxford given the important role the site played during this pivotal moment in the Second World War. We also get to pay homage to the iconic Spitfire, an aircraft with a very close association to Duxford as the first station to receive it in 1939 and seeing fourteen of these warbirds close out the Air Show is guaranteed to be a spectacular site. It has been great to welcome visitors back to our Air Shows this year and we are thrilled to be able to increase the capacity to this event, allowing even more people to enjoy our air displays and showground entertainment.”

IWM will be asking that ticket holders over the age of 18 produce evidence (in line with an NHS Covid Pass) of either a negative Covid-19 test result or proof they have received two doses of a Covid-19 vaccination. Please refer to the website for full details regarding entry requirements and other measures we will be keeping in place to keep everyone safe at this event.

Tickets to the Battle of Britain Air Show are available to purchase now at: Tickets | Imperial War Museums (iwm.org.uk)

Prices: Adult £42.50 / Children 5-15 £14.25 / Children under 5 and carers free

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